Soldiers Training in South Carolina, Georgia Beat the Summer Heat Thanks to the USO

If you have ever lived in the southeastern U.S., you may have heard the saying “it’s not so much the heat, but the humidity that will get you,” one too many times.

For soldiers training throughout South Carolina and Georgia training in extreme heat this summer, it has been a mixture of both heat and humidity putting a strain on them, as a result of an unprecedented heatwave sweeping the nation, with the heat index reaching over 100-degrees most days.

From July 15 - 29, USO staff and volunteers from USO South Carolina and USO Fort Stewart, with support from the USO Mobile team, provided food, fun, and cold refreshments to hundreds of soldiers conducting training at McCrady Training Center located in Eastover, S.C., and Fort Stewart, Georgia.

Mission delivery consisted of over 10,000 snack items, 2,500 bottles of water and Powerade, and lots of other treats to keep service members cool and refreshed as they conducted training in the sweltering summer heat of South Carolina, and during 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division’s live-fire range and training exercise at Fort Stewart, July 15 and 22.

“We were practically baking in the sun, in over 100-degree plus humidity on top of that, said Sgt. Brock Mabin, a cannon crewman on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

"My driver and I were sweating our tails off. We both expressed joy and relief by getting some nice cold water. Once I saw the USO t-shirts I was very happy to see you guys [the USO]. The water was refreshing, and it felt really good to cool off, I’m so glad the USO is always there for us,” said Brock.

“I feel so fortunate that I can represent an organization that stands behind our military members and give back,” said Mindi Shelton, Center Operations Specialist for USO Fort Stewart. “I believe we made a significant impact on our service members and their families. I saw a lot of familiar faces of those patrons who use our center daily, and their faces lit up when they saw us coming to support them in the field.”